Letter from Maria Graham to Owen Rees, March 2, 1824

By: Nahirah Izaz

Introduction

Maria Graham, a distinguished travel writer is the sender of the letter transcribed below. The recipient as addressed is her publisher “Owen Rees Esq^re” [Esquire] of Paternoster Row in London. The letter is dated “Tuesday March 2^nd”, and the postage stamp reveals the year of 1824. Graham begins the letter quite formally by referring to Rees as “Sir” and she simply ends it by signing “M Graham.” The letter sets a professional tone and discusses business as Graham discusses a few technicalities about a book that seems to be in the process of getting published. More specifically, she hopes the drawings from a “M. [Mr.] Dighton” will be accurately and precisely incorporated into her book, which implies he is her illustrator. She continues by asking how many copies will be published, and also inquires the sales on a few of her previously published “Indian books”. The books Graham mentions may possibly be Journal of a Residence in India and Letters on India. She finishes the letter by requesting Rees send her a copy of a book written by O’Driscoll on “Ireland” that is dedicated to “Lord Lansdown”. 

Description

The letter is written on a single sheet that appears to have two fold marks, suggesting it was a tri-fold letter. The envelope has an odd symbol of black ink that may have been a part of the penny postage system ("Penny Post | Postal Service"), as well as a clear stamp that reads “T.P Chasstwen”. Graham’s penmanship in this letter is slight messy, however, it is still readable. The ink gradually lightens towards the end of the letter, and if you look closely around lines 6-8 the ink is visibly darker than at the start; one may assume that Graham reloaded her quill or pen and perhaps added too much ink as the word “copies” is smudged.

Notable Features

Graham tends to have an odd way of writing some letters of the alphabet such as 'n' and 'm', they usually look like u’s and w’s. Her writing appears to be rushed, as some letters differ each time she uses it. For example, when she writes the letter 'o' it is sometimes a perfect circle, or alternatively it is half done. Another feature of Graham’s writing is that she includes multiple dashes throughout her letter, and occasionally these dashes follow after a period. The dashes seem to serve a similar purpose that of a comma, as they indicate a pause and separate clauses.

Analysis

Paternoster Row was a well-known street that was the centre of the publishing trade in London ("Paternoster Row - Wikipedia") and happens to be where “Longman” the publishing company Rees was a part of was based ("Longman - Wikipedia"). The Indian books Graham mentions were also published by the Longman firm in 1812 and 1814 ("Maria Graham - Wikipedia"), and Rees happens to be one of the few publishers credited on both works. Graham’s writing in the letter is very straightforward, she does not talk about herself or spare any room to ask how Rees is doing. The manner in which Graham communicates with Rees portrays that she values her time and career, as she remains professional throughout the entirety of letter. The stamp on the envelope that displays the year 1824 and the detail where Graham talks about her illustrator's drawing hint that the book she is writing to Rees about is Journal Of a Voyage to Brazil, and Residence There during Part of the Years 1821, 1822, 1823. The Journal of a Voyage to Brazil may very well be the book in discussion because it was published in 1824 the same year of the letter, and Denis Dighton an English painter who Graham speaks of illustrated this specific book ("Drawing; Print Study | British Museum").

Works Cited

"Drawing; Print Study | British Museum". The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1845-0405-14-148

"Longman - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longman

"Maria Graham - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Graham

"Paternoster Row - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternoster_Row

"Penny Post | Postal Service". Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Penny-Post.